Aija

id go for the GS. The 98-05 GS (opinion) looks better than the 95-01 ES. Also i believe the GS has the Inline 6 cylinder (which in my opinion is better than a V6) which came off the supra, one of the better engines lexoyta has built in the past. :D However, i would imagine the ES to be slightier more reliable since 98 GS is first year make. But then again, this is lexus (unlike german cars) where reliability isnt much of a problem. Im not too sure about this, but i know the ES is four speed and im assuming the GS is 5sp. transmission

dude, you can turn off the stability control on the new IS. Its like a long process, but it still can be done. Im aware there is a video game code of some type. I think lexus calls their system VDIM which was not ment to be turned off. Buying between a Lexus IS and BMW 330 (coupes are soon to be 335i) really comes down to what you want in a car. IS is more luxury and 3series is more sporty. 3series cannot beat lexus in the interior and nav and lexus cannot beat the 3series on road feel. I agree that BMW has some reliability issues. We own a 2000 BMW 740iL, and we have encountered few problems that costed us $$$. With a BMW id advice to sell it after 5years and buy another one (or lease it and end of the lease, get another one). With the IS, you are better off buying since lexus generally have good rate plans to buy. Leasing is not recommended for lexus in my opinion. Less then 20% of people lease lexus and about 40% people lease BMW. There is a reason for that.

leasing a IS is probably not a good choice. I forget their exact residual values, but i think its 54%. You are better off Buying.

Just my 2cents: Im going to buy a new car in the summer and for a long time i had a hard time determing if i wanted a IS350 or a BMW 3-series. After all the test driving i have done with the the two i have to say : Lexus IS: 1. A much improved Lexus. 2. Still, too soft for a "sporty" car. 3. Nice Power 4. Crap Turning 5. Shift Paddlers are a joke compared to SMG or Manual. 6. Nice interior along with the toys 7. Sleek design except the taillights, it reminds me of a hyuandi. 8. No stick 9. Lease rates suck as residual value is in the mid 50's. 10. Cannot turn off trac/stability control (aka, bad for the tracks especially since lexus is going against the 3series." 11. Im 6'2, dont like the rear size. 12. Big Side mirrors. 13. Leather along with other few luxury items is standard. 14. Japanese Reliability 15. Better customer-care Rating: 7/10 BMW 3series: 1. Not a step up or down in from the previous BMW. Rather, a step sideways. 2. Very Sporty Drive, especially with Stickshift and Sport Parkage. 3. Decent power, but needs to be better. 4. Superb turning 5. No SMG, best alternative for the automatic 6. Interior is "ok" but lexus wins this for sure. 7. Sleek design, except the taillights, reminds me of a korean car (hey lexus and BMW have something in common) 8. Great Lease rates. 9. BMW still has a more of a brand image. 10. Insurance is significantly lower on a 3 series than on a IS350. 11. Free 4yr maintance (goes great leases) 12. European Dilvery is one of the best experiences of buying this car. 13. I-drive is a joke. 14. Leather is not standard. 15. German Engineering Rating: 8/10 Conclusion: Lexus IS, still feels like a regular sedan where it leans more to luxury then sport. BMW 3, you do get the "sports sedan" for this vehical. Suggestions: If you want a comfortable ride, go with the IS, if you want to go with more sports, 3series is the winner. If you are leasing, no question about it, go for the 3series. If you are patient, BMW E92 (3series) coupe is comming in the summer with 300+ hp with a more sleek design (aka which im probably going for).

Im curious as to how the refresh on the RX350 is going to look.

Well our family has a 2000 740il, very fun to drive but very costly. I agree with the post above me, consider a GS400.

i actually like the 95 (i think?)-2001 better then the new ones. We own both, but the driving experience is more pleasing on the older generation (no transmission lag) and its lower to the ground then the current generation.

First, i did give credit for ES330 for being a good car for older people. When i was comparing the older generation ES to the current one, i said its more fun to drive. Some people dont care about how many units of the car is sold. The current one looks better, but to me , its alot more boring to drive. To the guy who posted about BMW Reliability. I think we all know about german cars reliability. They get alot of electrical problems, i know from the 740iL. But ive seen (non v-8's) bmw go through very minor problems. The current es330 is focused on the "baby boomers" generation. Their marketing is for 50+ old people. I think the LF-S is a bit lower generation of age (which is why theres notable difference in the car shapes). The toys of the es is great. I dont got anything to complain about except that you cannot input anything into the GPS system when you are moving. (it still locks on you if you are going 5mph) and unable to disable trac/avs control and transmission which im sure is going to be the same way for the next LF-S car (es). Im sure the 6-speed tranmission will have little less lag and navi 5 will continue hold the title for one of the best gps system. If you talk about car crash ratings, any police officer will say that a "perfect car crash rating" can lead to disaster. Front crash test is done by crashing into a wall at 40MPH (i believe) and and measures the impact from their. So according to physics, if you crash a 3000 pound car at 40mph into a wall, its like saying a 3k pound car is crashing into your car. A honda civic crash ratings are "good" too but im sure if you crash , lets say a to a LS430, its a different story. Only side impact is probably a noteable rating. Yes i know the car is my parents wallet, ill be exchanging cars this summer with my own money, (almost got my electrical engineer degree), and im favoring the bmw 335 comming out and the only lexus i compare with the 335 is the IS, which i believe falls short on sporty. I just get angry when someone says if you buy a sports car, you are going to crash.

And I bet you are one of those people that drive in the carpool lane going 55MPH where the flow of traffic in the fast lane is 80MPH and wonder "why is everyone honking/high beaming me?", here in the bay area. Lexus ES is a joke on handling compared with european cars. Rock solid? European cars get higher crash test ratings, reliability? Well lexus wins this for sure. I get about 17MPG/avg on my ES. If i let someone else drive it at speed limits, they get about 19MPG. Like i said, Lexus (all models) is good for old people. Just because you own a sports/"sporty" car doesnt mean you are going to crash it high speeds when spinning out. I remember one time when my friend was driving is celica (i was in the passenger side), a 50 year old women ran a red light and totaled both the cars. Yes, it was red for awhile too not like it was yellow then turned red. More than 70% of deadly accidents happen on intersection here in califonia. People do drive sports car for the tracks. No i never see any Lexus Brands other than the older generation SC/GS. Lexus ES was designed for the most luxury toys with the sacrifice of drivetrain and TRANSMISSION. You go to Europe, youll never see a lexus there. Gotta love the autobahn. As far as me, my Toyota ES330 was a hand down, i didnt buy it at will, and yes i will complain about it since its my opinion.

hand down from parents...they went with the Lexus GX ....the lexus ES was suppose to replace our 2000 LExus ES as a commuter car. 25k mile in 9months on it, as our 2000 lexus es has 155k now. Ive always heard about Lexus transmission problem but i never thought it would jerk so badly until i drove it. Most people hate the looks on the ES (current one) but for me, i acutally liked it black/black fully loaded (except chrome rims). 6more months and im done with ES's, i wanted to reserve a Lexus IS350 but decided not to when i found out no stick was going to be available (and lexus claims this to be a sporty car) Shift paddlers on the IS is a joke, tranmission problem is still the same and the only thing the IS350 has is more horsepower which the E92 BMW 335 is going to offer 300+hp in 7months. GS, nice looking car but not my style. SC, worst car lexus has made however the new SC comming soon will be nice. Comparing apples to aplles, the current ES is boring to drive. The generation before it seemed alot more fun to drive.

I am done with Lexus ES's, and probably lexus's altogether. As far as the 2007 ES350, to me for some reason looks more like a refresh of the current ES's. The new ES is a improvement over the last generation, but its only good for older generation (40+). As a 20 year college student, i hated the 2005 Lexus ES330 that i got, its fully loaded and still boring to drive. Thankfully it will be be going to my little brother as i will buy a european car. Going 110MPH in this car feels like your still going 40mph. I must say though, the ES is the only affordable car with all the toys :)

2005 Lexus ES330 ........ 21,000 miles (we havent even had the car for a year and was bought off the lot) 2000 Lexus ES300. ........142,000miles.

im actually disappointed with the Lexus Forums also. When i look at BMW/Audi forums, they are 10X more active then the Lexus forums (i post regularly at Bimmerfest.com)

since u used the the word "slushbox" im assuming u like driving stickshift. The shift paddlers will not cut your needs, it still has the laggy transmission. Do test drive it and check it out. Shift paddlers are good for people who love automatic cars and like to switch gears on their own once in awhile. However the paddlers are no comparison to stickshift or BMW's SMG.

my friends call my Lexus ES330 the Toyota ES330... :cries:

Finally lexus's exterior designing is getting alot better. Tires are too skinny for the car just like every other japanese cars. Lexus is changing their direction alot in designing. Have you seen the LF-A (i think)concept? I have never seen any car like it. Toyota in generally is getting bigger becomming the largest the car manufactorer after GM falls (which in reality they have shot themselves in the foot and trying to recover). Toyota Supra, Lexus IS450, facelifted SC. The only sad part is, Lexus does not sell in Europe. I believe they sold only 16,000 UNITS!!! in 2005. Hopfully this car can handle for the autobahn! (yes i go to germany alot)

the new Mercedez S500/600 is there also!!

In california, you rarely see AWD. BMW for example. you will only see "i" not "xi". Some people will have xi bimmers have xi models because they bought it used. Im curious as to how the next ES is going to look like. The ES should follow the new market strategy like they did for the IS/GS. Orginally the ES was designed for the baby boomers group (around age 55) for the current model. They are now focusing on a lower age group and want to build more of a perfomance car on all models (aka, better horsepwer) For me personally, i am done with ES's (i am only 20). Main reason why i liked the ES was because the 2000 Lexus ES was a hand down and i guess my parents wanted to buy a family car and we choose the ES330 fully loaded. I know my parents are trading in the 2000 ES300 for the RX no matter how the new ES looks like. My next car will be RWD since we dont see snow anyways (and RWD is better for my style of driving). IS350 was a disappointment (no stickshift), GS would be nice if it looked nice for my age, so looks i have to wait for the BMW 335 and snag that one in the comming summer~

Audi has improved their interior but still has ways to go. Lexus in my opinion in general have a better interrior then their competitors. The IS300 was the only exception i made to this. The IS350 (to me) has a better interior design then the BMW 330.

Personally id look into a BMW 325/330 :) unless it is a Audi TT! (Sweet car) I think audi has more reliability problems.

well i am 20. The Lexus IS300 almost made me buy it when i was 16 (i went for the Mitsu Eclipse GTS instead). The lexus IS300 is "average" car. Id acutally recommend the Audi A4 or the BMW 330 if u can maintain it. As for insurance goes, yes it was me who was saying the insurance rate is the highest for IS300. We are both under 25 so this would effect us drastically as compared to people who are over 25 (wont make much difference). Heres the Kelly Blue Book site: http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/ke.kb.sp?kbb....uranceA;article look at it, and youll see Lexus IS300 #1 on highest vehical to insure. For my dad, a Corvette Z06 is CHEAPER to insure than a Lexus IS300/350.

Yep the ES350 is definately comming out before June hopfully. They have revealed the Camry already and it looks alot like the current es330. The new ES350 has no offical pictures. This is my guess how the ES350 is going to be. Since i have a full loaded lexus ES330 i believe this is what the ES350 will offer. -A new body -A new engine 250+hp (to compete with the TL) -Bluetooth -MP3 -The automatic steering wheel where the adjuster is automatic Id recommend to wait for the new ES to come out. 06 is not worth it. 2005 was the year to buy the last of the ES's for a good price and not having to worry about a new model ES comming out. (I generally always buy vehicals in their first year of refresh). However be aware that the ES350 will be hard to negoiate down in its first year.

Yes dealers have something called "dealer exhange" when dealers want to exchange cars. However if u are buying and dealing with the dealer other than your local dealership, you will need to drive/fly to the other dealership to pick up your car since you didnt buy it in your local dealership. However, if you talk to your local dealer and come down to a deal and they dont have the vehical, they will use the "dealer exchange" to get your vehical. Some dealers charge a 650 dollar fee for this. This is just how it works in California around the Bay Area.

my point is, faster in what sense. 0-60, quarter mile? going to the tracks? Usually after a quarter mile, it makes no difference in when u talk about how fast a car is. Car and Driver lists car's timing based on 0-60, quarter mile. Do you ever see 2mile races? No. Its insignificant. G35/350Z are based on tracks, quarter mile, 0-60, not "hey lets go straight for 2miles and see who wins" and even then, domestic cars win this category (camero, V8 320+hp on SS for all under 30k MSRP when it was still selling at the dealers). Its like saying im bringing my 740iL 4.4L and telling all the I6/V6's my car is the fastest because it is a V8 and judging the car purely on a 2mile run. Also, a GS400 has a hard time getting modified like the 350Z. For crying out loud, GS400 was designed for people of age 55!!!!!!!!!! I believe the old GS400 would be estimated at 285 Horsepower if the new criteria was in place for this car since Lexus/Acura as revised their criteria on Horsepower numbers. (apply's for all 2006+ models). I didnt catch it earlier but yes, stickshift is cheaper then automatic like always because you are designing a transmission without the driver putting the clutch down for switching gears and having a computer-based system switching your gears for you. That part costs $$$. Does that mean automatic is better? No, alot people dont want the car to decide to switch gears for them. Look at BMW's, on 40k cars automatic is still optional as some people hate automatic. When we bought the 740iL for 64k, automatic was optional on a 60k+ car. If automatic was truly better than manual in all aspects, im sure they can offer automatic on a 60k+ car standard. BMW M3's are either manual or smg (which is even more than automatics). Look at the exotic cars, and tell me wat transmission u see there. I was about to buy a IS350 until i found out no stickshift is offered and there shift paddlers are crap, so now im waitign on the BMW 335 to come out in september (hopfully) which should be faster than the IS.

didnt have time posting on the lexus forums but i thought id pull this one back up. What kind of races are you talking about? Most races are 0-60, Quarter Mile and the Track (where handling counts). V8 at the END will of course overtake a 4-6 cylinder cars. But 0-60, Quarter mile is based on your lowend torque and horsepower. Stickshift have the advantage of a better take off. Theres only one transmission that is better than stickshift which is shift paddlers found in exotic cars. No, lexus IS has crap paddlers. It is nothing compared to the BMW SMG transmission. Dont get me wrong, Lexus GS400 is a fast car. It was never ment to be a racing car. Lexus knows that, that is why they are entering the racing division (LeMan's i believe?) with their lexus IS350. Yes, that is a V6. They picked it over a V8 GS430 (soon to be 450), i wonder why? BMW M3 is a 6 cylinder car. The new M3 will be a V8 but that is cranking out estimated 455Horse Power.